-
Napoleon Takes Over
Napoleon organized German states into the Rhine Confederation. This occurred after he annexed lands along the Rhine River for France and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon also forced the emperor of Austria to agree to lesser title of king. -
The Way Napoleon Was Viewed
Some people welcomed Napoleon with enlightened, modern policies. Napoleon also freed serfs, made trade easier, and abolished laws against Jews. He made a lot of good reform for the German states. However, like anything else he had opposition from other Germans who demanded a unified German state. -
The Congress of Viena
Some people welcomed Napoleon with enlightened, modern policies. Napoleon also freed serfs, made trade easier, and abolished laws against Jews. He made a lot of good reform for the German states. However, like anything else he had opposition from other Germans who demanded a unified German state. -
Economic Union
Prussia created Zollverein. This is an economic union that dismantled tariff barriers between German states. However, this did not fix the bad politics. -
Frankfurt Assembly
Frankfurt Assembly offered the throne of the united German state to Frederick William IV of Prussia. He rejected this however. This was another failed attempt at German political unity. -
Crimean War
It was Russia who guaranteed to maintain order and balance after the defeat of the Napoleon it did so with Austria, Prussia, and France since then. Now, that power was effectively eliminated; therefore, the demise of the balance of power could not be far behind.On the national scale, the Crimean War, some historians have argued, marked the beginning of the road to the Russian Revolution of 1917. -
Realpolitik
Otto von Bismarck was chosen by King William I to be prime minister. Bismarck was called realpolitik, which means he practiced tough power politics without room for idealism. He climbed the political ladder and was chancellor within a decade. -
Bismarck wastes no time
Otto von Bismarck first started by building up the Prussian army but liberal legislature voted against funds for the military. He then slyly used money meant for other things to strengthen the army. Now he started to pursue his “blood and iron” policy. This policy led Prussia into 3 wars that paved the way for German unification. -
Austro-Prussian War
Bismarck formed an alliance with Austria. Then in 1866, he created an excuse to attack Prussia, leading to the Austro-Prussian War. This war lasted for a total of seven weeks where at the end Prussia annexed several other north German states. -
Forces the Republic
With the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy. Many foreign governments, including that of the United States, refused to recognize his administration. This helped to ensure the success of republican forces led by Benito Juárez, and Maximilian was captured and executed in 1867. -
German Confederation is Dissolved
After the war, Bismarck decided to dissolve the German Confederation, which had been led by Austria. Then he created a new confederation dominated by Prussia, but Austria and four other southern states remained free. Bismarck never thought about anything else besides politics, which led all of his decisions based on how it would help Prussia politically. -
Bundersat
- Southern German state and the North German Confederation convinced William I of Prussia to become Kaiser. January 1871, Germans celebrated the birth of the second Reich. Bismarck set up a two-house legislature with the Bundesrat being the higher house and was appointed by rulers of German states. Reichstag was the lower house and elected by universal male suffrage. Power remained in the hands of the chancellor and emperor because the Bundesrat could veto the Reichstag.
-
Franco-Prussian War
France was angered by Prussia’s actions and led them to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Bismarck was a very smart man and falsely portrayed Napoleon III poorly which led to a high feeling of German nationalism. Bismarck had wanted the war so he rewrote a telegram and made it seem like William I had insulted Napoleon. This made Napoleon III furious and made him declare war on Prussia. Prussia with help from the German states smashed the French army and forced them to accept a peace treaty.
